Christopher Ryan (born Christopher Papazoglou; 25 January 1950) is a
British actor best known for his roles as Mike TheCoolPerson in the
BBC comedy series ''
The Young Ones'', Dave Hedgehog in the BBC comedy series ''
Bottom'', Tony Driscoll in the BBC comedy series ''
Only Fools and Horses'', and as
Edina Monsoon
Edina "Eddie" Margaret Rose Monsoon is one of the two main characters in the British television sitcom ''Absolutely Fabulous'', created and portrayed by comedian Jennifer Saunders.
The founder and head of her own PR company, Edina consistently ...
's ex-husband Marshall Turtle in the BBC sitcom ''
Absolutely Fabulous''. He has also appeared as the McKendrick twins in ''
One Foot in the Grave'', and played
Sontaran
The Sontarans ( ) are a fictional race of extraterrestrial humanoids principally portrayed in the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. A warrior race characterised by their ruthlessness and fearlessness of death, they w ...
General Staal in ''
Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
'' in 2008.
Early life
Ryan was born Christopher Papazoglou in
Bayswater
Bayswater is an area within the City of Westminster in West London. It is a built-up district with a population density of 17,500 per square kilometre, and is located between Kensington Gardens to the south, Paddington to the north-east, and ...
,
London to an English mother and a Greek father. He trained at
East 15 Acting School from 1968 to 1971, then began his professional acting career with
Glasgow Citizens' Theatre.
Career
''The Young Ones''
Ryan was the only ''
Young Ones'' cast member who was not already well known in British comedy circles, the other principal parts being taken by
The Comic Strip members
Rik Mayall,
Adrian Edmondson,
Nigel Planer, and
Alexei Sayle. He was a last-minute replacement for
Peter Richardson, for whom the "
straight man" role of "Mike TheCoolPerson" was originally intended.
In 1986, Ryan reunited with the rest of the cast for the comedic charity single and music video for
Cliff Richard's hit song "
Living Doll", with Richard himself, for
Comic Relief.
Later career
In 1987, he starred in the short-lived BBC sitcom ''
A Small Problem
''A Small Problem'' is a British sitcom originally broadcast on BBC2 in 1987. Intended as a satire on prejudice, and starring Christopher Ryan who had previously played Mike in '' The Young Ones'', the show was set in a Britain with a form of apa ...
''. He played
Lucky in
Samuel Beckett
Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish novelist, dramatist, short story writer, theatre director, poet, and literary translator. His literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal and tragicomic expe ...
's ''
Waiting for Godot'' at the
Queen's Theatre in the
West End in 1991, alongside Mayall and Edmondson. He later played Dave Hedgehog in ''
Bottom'', and Marshall Turtle, one of Edina's unloved ex-husbands, on ''
Absolutely Fabulous''. He has also appeared in two major sitcoms: he played one of the Driscoll brothers in an episode of ''
Only Fools And Horses'' and
spin-off
Spin-off may refer to:
*Spin-off (media), a media work derived from an existing work
*Corporate spin-off, a type of corporate action that forms a new company or entity
* Government spin-off, civilian goods which are the result of military or gove ...
''
The Green Green Grass'', a pair of
identical twin builders in the ''
One Foot in the Grave'' episode "Hole in the Sky", and a plumber in the episode "The Valley of Fear". He appeared in ''
Back to School Mr. Bean
"Back to School Mr. Bean" is the eleventh episode of the British television series ''Mr. Bean'', produced by Tiger Aspect Productions and Thames Television for Central Independent Television. It was first broadcast on ITV on Wednesday, 26 Octobe ...
'', ''
My Family'' and ''
Saxondale.'' He joined up again with Jennifer Saunders for two episodes of ''The Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle''.
In 1986, he appeared in the
science fiction series ''
Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
'' as the alien creature
Lord Kiv in the serial ''
The Trial of a Time Lord:
Mindwarp'', and as one of the rose-painting playing cards in the 1999 TV version of ''
Alice in Wonderland
''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatur ...
''. In 2008, he again guest-starred in ''Doctor Who'' in the episodes "
The Sontaran Stratagem" and "
The Poison Sky", as the
Sontaran
The Sontarans ( ) are a fictional race of extraterrestrial humanoids principally portrayed in the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. A warrior race characterised by their ruthlessness and fearlessness of death, they w ...
leader "General Staal", and in the 2010 episode "
The Pandorica Opens", playing another Sontaran character, "Commander Stark". In 2012 he appeared in the role of Marshall in Episode 3 "Olympics" of the ''
Absolutely Fabulous'' 20th-anniversary specials.
Although his film appearances were few, he played small roles in ''
Santa Claus: The Movie'' (1985) and the film ''
Dirty Weekend'' (1993), directed by
Michael Winner.
Ryan starred as Baron Hardup in the pantomime of
Cinderella at the
Theatre Royal, Norwich from 17 December 2013 to 19 January 2014.
Filmography
Film
Television
Audio drama
Video games
Music videos
Theatre
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Christopher
1950 births
Living people
Alumni of East 15 Acting School
English male film actors
English male stage actors
English male television actors
English people of Greek descent
Male actors from London
The Flying Pickets members
20th-century English male actors
21st-century English male actors